Muller Bressler + Brown

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MBB to Hallmark Hall of Fame: “We have lift-off.”

How do you launch the premiere of a movie about Space Camp? How about launching one lucky family to the real deal at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama?

That's what MBB and Hallmark Hall of Fame did when we got together to promote the recent release of "A Smile as Big as the Moon." The online contest centered around a microsite where visitors could enter to win an actual Space Camp weekend. They could also check out the movie trailer and read bios of the actors.

After about four weeks, the promotion generated more than 215,000 unique visits and almost 73,000 entries. It also helped Hallmark Hall of Fame grow their Facebook fan base by nearly 45 percent. Even the Space Camp folks noticed an uptick. In one two-day period, they booked 89 camp reservations, compared to 20 bookings for the same period last year.

Check out the microsite here. 1 2 3 4

Starting up CR’s latest April Auto Issue …

Consumer Reports | interactive | news

Here’s part of an online banner push we created for Consumer Reports to help get word out about their annual April Auto Issue. The much-anticipated issue is loaded with CR’s latest ratings, reviews and other car-related info. The banners pointed viewers to a limited online version of the full magazine.

Check it out here. 1 2

MBB helps Chinet recreate an Easter tradition

Chinet | interactive | news

Admit it. It’s still fun to hide and hunt dyed eggs on Easter. That was the thought when we dreamed up this little promotion for Chinet’s website. With Easter around the corner, the idea was to highlight COLORS by Chinet®, a collection of brightly colored paper plates, perfect for the holiday. So, we hid a few plates around MyChinet.com for viewers to find. When they found all five, we gave ‘em a coupon.

In return, Chinet got more than 26,000 pageviews of the contest landing page, and more than 1,400 new Club Chinet referrals. As for the hidden plates, well, the pages where they were hidden topped the 15 most viewed pages for the month, proving that everyone loves an good ol’ fashioned Easter egg hunt.

Check it out here. 1 2 3

Love What You Do

news

I love what I do. And that was reinforced last week while meeting with a great group of small agency owners from around the country. As part of the 4As (American Association of Advertising Agencies), we participate in a group called Forum 13 that meets twice a year to discuss the good, the bad, and perhaps the ugly of what we do. But thanks to the open and honest exchange with these guys, I always come away feeling great about our work, our clients, our people, and pretty much everything about MBB. These meetings point out what we’re doing right and where we still need to improve. I always leave our time together motivated, inspired and reaffirmed that we are doing a lot of things right.

And while it can be a very challenging business at times, I wouldn’t trade what I do for the world. I’m grateful for this group and the insight they provide and their ability to remind me that I love what I do. Thanks Forum 13. Guanxi, my friends (OK…look it up.).

Creating Possible

news

At MBB, we thrive on the idea of creating possible for our clients. The notion of being presented with a business challenge and having the opportunity to come up with impactful solutions is what gets us excited. However, when I think about “creating possible,” I’m often more inspired by amazing human, real-life stories that demonstrate the power of what’s possible. These stories only motivate me more and help me apply “possible” in my one little way. I recently ran across the story of Scotty Smiley and his book, Hope Unseen: The Story of the U.S. Army’s First Blind Active-Duty Officer. It’s a truly amazing story of faith, hope, family, friendship, love and how one person chose to respond to a truly life-changing event. Scotty, with a lot of help from family, friends and others, chose to create possible with his life. Check out the story, watch the video, and if so inclined, read the book. And think about what you can do to achieve “possible” with your work and your life.

Best Buy Rethinks Its Business Model

news

This doesn’t come as a surprise at all, but it’s certainly another great example of how consumers and their 24/7 access to online product information, reviews and competitive pricing are impacting traditional retailers. And I’m guilty. Here’s my little story. You’ve probably had the same experience.

I was looking for a basic sound bar speaker system to add to an existing TV. That’s the kind of product you want to experience (hear!) in person. So I made a few stops one afternoon and listened to a really cool LG sound bar at Best Buy. I was ready to buy on the spot. But, with trusty iPhone in hand, I thought I would pull up some quick reviews, check Consumer Reports and so on. What I didn’t really expect to find was a price on Amazon, for the exact same product, for $150 less…on an item already well below $500. And, of course I could get free shipping from Amazon. So, as much as I would like to have supported the store and walked right out of there and hooked up a cool new speaker, an easy $150 savings made that impossible.

It will be interesting to see what transpires with Best Buy and other big box retailers where the online experience can easily compete, if not surpass, the in-store experience.